complexlyleslie's review
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
zivan's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It's been a while since I've read such a technical techno thriller and one with an agenda.
It's somewhat repetitive and hammers the message in quite hard, but it's also a thriller with engaging characters I cared about.
It's somewhat repetitive and hammers the message in quite hard, but it's also a thriller with engaging characters I cared about.
kierstyna21's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kearneykd's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. Couldn't put it down and finished it in a day.
mferrante83's review against another edition
5.0
Might be as close as you can get to essential sci-fi reading. Equal parts terrifying and uplifting. As always Doctorow delivers with a thought provoking plot tethered to characters with emotional weight.
dorayangvip's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5
As the author says, technology cannot substitute for a just society, but it can help you create that society.
As the author says, technology cannot substitute for a just society, but it can help you create that society.
sizrobe's review against another edition
5.0
I love Cory Doctorow and this delivers the same quality I've come to expect from him. It's not so much science fiction as the bleeding edge of the science present. Also, it's kind of like an anti-surveillance manifesto wrapped in a techno-spy thriller. It's got a lot to say and says it all eloquently and entertainingly. A great read.
fahyhallowell's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexism, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Misogyny
Moderate: Murder, War, Alcohol, and Torture
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
5.0
Ouch. That was a painful book to read. And partially because its the story of the bad guy. Or from what I get from the references to the previous books. But I don't remember Masha from those books well enough on my own. Partially it was the pacing. There was some dramatic info-dumping. And preaching. And too much technical details and I'd have to figure too much to follow and understand unless you already knew lots of it. Choices. Making the right choices and how it affects the world we live in. The fiction in this book rated maybe a 3.5. But the nonfiction in this book was too important and too aggressively unavoidable. And both left me kind of brutalized. I'll end this with something from the author's afterword after the two other afterwords.
"As this book is going to press, the world is riven by authoritarian politics, supercharged by technological surveillance and influence campaigns. We stand at the brink of a permanent environmental cataclysm that threatens our very species. We have never needed shelter and force multipliers more than we do today."
This book made me feel victimized. This book made me feel like a coward. But I sure wasn't bored.
"As this book is going to press, the world is riven by authoritarian politics, supercharged by technological surveillance and influence campaigns. We stand at the brink of a permanent environmental cataclysm that threatens our very species. We have never needed shelter and force multipliers more than we do today."
This book made me feel victimized. This book made me feel like a coward. But I sure wasn't bored.